Weak or Strong, I'll Hold Your Arm
by chickenscrews
Summary: She can see it in the orphan boy's eyes: innocence tainted by fear and he questions if he'll ever trust again. The child allows his flitting eyes to meet hers. She smiles. Extending an arm, the girl says to him, "I'm Korra, your older cousin. It's nice to finally meet you, Aang." (Mid- to late-20th century AU.)


I should confess right away that the title of this story is borrowed from a line in Deuce's song "The One." However, that's as far as the similarities go and this will _not_ be a song-fic.

You will also find that Naga is no longer a giant in here. She wouldn't be able to fit in the house otherwise.

* * *

Weak or Strong, I'll Hold Your Arm

Chapter One: Safe

[Scene 01]

The nomad boy keeps his hands in his pockets and a hood over his head to hide his damning tattoos. His uncle, still bandaged and sore from the rescue, tells him no one will dare touch him in the airport. They're far from lynch-mobs, yet the boy can still hear hate-chants and see the corpses of his people swinging from trees. The Water-Tribe girl, five years the boy's elder, studies his aversive eyes and finally knows the face of fear and destitution. It fascinates and disturbs her.

It's late: the last night of winter. The last flakes of snow fall past the expansive window beside them. Both her father and cousin are weary from the trip. The boy doesn't speak despite his uncle's gentle nudge to introduce himself to his aunt and cousin, the relatives he's meeting for the first time.

The girl's mother smiles gently and speaks with a loving kindness, "Hello, Aang. I'm your Aunt Senna and this is your cousin, Korra. It's nice to finally meet you."

He doesn't speak back. The child's eyes tell of innocence tainted by fear and he wonders if he'll ever trust again.

Senna understands and kneels to meet him. Her voice is solemn. "I know this must be difficult for you and I'm sorry about what happened, but we're glad to have you as part of our home. Please try to accept us as you can. We'll keep you safe."

Aang allows his eyes to meet hers and is graced by a tender smile. She warms his heart and, though weakly, he smiles back. "Thank you, Aunt Senna" his polite voice cracks. The monk boy is tempted to keep his manners and bow for the hospitality, but fear of expression restrains him.

Aang looks past his aunt and sees his cousin stare at him in silent bewilderment, not from bigotry, but from a harsh epiphany. All her life, she'd heard stories of the extreme prejudice and hate-crimes Air Nomads endured, but neither understood nor cared for the reality in those tales so long as she lived in a separate world. But now she sees an innocent victim of those atrocities standing only a few feet away—a blood-relative nonexistent until three days ago—and, suddenly, all the articles and news reports of lynchings and public massacres she once repressed as fiction crush her spirit completely. That protective barrier is gone and she doesn't know how to cope.

Tonraq finds his daughter staring and brings her out of it. "Korra, aren't you going to welcome your cousin? He's come a long way to be here."

Korra realizes her inappropriate gawking and her face briefly flushes—a nervous demeanor surpassing the boy's. But then, what's left to say? That's the thing with parents. They always steal the attention and say everything for you when talking to someone and treat you like an accessory. Korra is that awkward accessory. She doesn't like it.

Dawn is breaking. The faint light of the rising sun shines through the windows as Korra speaks with her typical machismo meant to be reassuring, "You're in good hands, kid. My dad's the best damn waterbender in the entire city, I can take on six guys at once in a fight, and we got a badass polar dog built like a tank who can scare away any burglar or home-invader. No one'll dare mess with you if you stick with us."

Her parents are taken aback by the inappropriate boast, but Aang's stressed features soften and his young eyes slightly brighten. "You have a dog? What's he like?" Tonraq obviously forgot to mention that.

Korra smirks. "Her name's Naga and she's a descendent of the mighty polar bear-dog race. Once you get past her warrior side, you'll see she has an awesome personality and _loves_ sledding and playing fetch. She's a little iffy with new people, but any friend of mine's a friend of hers, so she'll learn to love ya in no time."

Under the hood hiding his arrow, the reclusive child remembers how to smile, however feebly, and knows he's in good hands. "I can't wait to meet her."

"Just one thing, though," Korra interrupts. "She's kinda got a thing against hoods since most of the punks she scares off wear them."

Aang frowns. "Can't I be the exception?"

The parents are silent. The kids are clearly in charge of the discussion.

Korra answers, "Hey, some dogs hate men with beards and hats. Mine also doesn't like hoods. It's a small price to pay for such an awesome dog." She places a hand on his shoulder. He tenses, but then settles and watches in silence as she reaches her other hand for his hood. "So be proud of that arrow and let it shine."

Aang reaches for his cousin's wrist to stop her, his eyes pleading and afraid. Korra halts herself and her disposition softens. She lowers the offending hand to his other shoulder, his hand still on her wrist, and they briefly study each other. They forget the parents. She says to him, "Someday, this will all pass. The violence, the hate…but it won't wait for you. And if you hide who you are, they win. So stand tall. Show them you're not afraid."

Aang remains somber, but releases his hold on her wrist. Part of him is glad for the gesture, but a new family and a touch on the shoulder can't erase the memories of Gyatso and all his friends swinging lifelessly from tree branches in front of their burning homes or of Tonraq fighting off the rioters to save the young airbender, barely escaping with both their lives. He answers, "I've got a lot to be afraid of."

Korra understands and gently squeezes his shoulder. "So go at your own pace. I'm right here and I'll be by your side the whole time."

Tonraq breaks the building tension, "Well, this has been nice, but the sun's already rising. We're all behind on our sleep, my bandages need changing, and we still need to get Aang back home to set up sleeping arrangements and shop for school supplies in the morning. We can start a civil rights movement when all that's taken care of."

[Scene 02]

The sun rises over suburbia. Aang peers through the backseat window of the family's car and sees a decaying town of dying lawns and rotting single-story houses. At the turn of seasons, snow turns to slush. Paint peels. Trees rot—one still standing has been split down the center by lightning. Chain-link fences rust. Wooden fences chip away. Some cats and stragglers wander the streets and sidewalks at the ungodly hour, not caring for the passing vehicle. Aang wonders if this would be a predominantly Water Tribe neighborhood, but some of the homes have subtle touches to denote Earth Kingdom and even Fire Nation descent. An integrated community could be nice, he thinks. Then he wonders how many of them are actually benders.

"I know it doesn't look like much," Senna says while driving, her husband resting his wounds in the navigator's seat, "But it's been a good home to us since Korra was a baby."

"It really doesn't look that bad." Aang tries to be polite. "It's not like the nomads were allowed to stay in nice places anyways, so your neighborhood looks beautiful by comparison."

A bitter smile graces Senna's face: glad for the compliment, yet disheartened at what the boy lived through. But Korra catches the unintended insult—their neighborhood looks beautiful compared to a garbage dump—and holds back a snigger while Aang turns red-faced at realizing how he shot himself in the foot.

Tonraq replies, "You should've seen it when we moved in. The place was immaculate. That's because it was originally just a Fire Nation neighborhood. They didn't want any of us 'lower citizens' coming in. After a few court cases, they opened this place up to us Water and Earth folk. But then, the marketers encouraged the Fire Nation not to mingle with us, so they offered them some money to move out, property value went to crap, and then they resold it to us minorities for a higher price. Not all of the Fire Nation left, though. But the ones who stayed have been pretty accepting of us."

"My best friends are actually Earth and Fire folk," Korra adds. "Most people here are pretty cool about the race differences, so you should fit right in."

"Are there any benders here besides you, Uncle Tonraq?" Aang inquires.

The injured man answers, "Some. But it's not like they're masters of their craft. I'm the only waterbender for miles around and not many besides the elderly remember the old ways. Not since the Equalist movement 'purified' so many of us."

Aang solemnly bows his head, hoping the hood's shadow obscures his face. It doesn't.

"Are you a bender, Aang?" Senna asks.

His voice cracks under the answer. "I was."

[Scene 03]

The car pulls into the driveway and the four exit the vehicle. Aang notices some attempt at a flower and rock garden in the front lawn and smiles knowing his new family isn't so defeatist about the decaying community as the neighbors are. Senna helps her wounded husband out of his seat and Korra walks on ahead to unlock the front door.

From inside the one-story house, Naga perks up at hearing the commotion. She's barely slept since her humans left for the airport, duty-bound to safeguard their home. Korra chuckles at hearing her dog dash and bark for the front door, not from alarm, but as a welcoming. She recognizes her humans' foot patterns anywhere and knows it's them on the other side. But there's a fourth presence she's not familiar with.

Korra pauses before inserting the key in the lock. She turns to Aang and reminds him, "Now'd be a good time to take that hood off, little cousin."

Aang complies and removes the hood and Korra sees his arrow for the first time. It's a fascinating sight to her, but she makes sure not to stare, knowing how uncomfortable Aang must already feel. Korra opens the door. Naga wags her tail anxiously on the other side. When they see each other, Korra and Naga embrace in a sisterly hug as they exchange excited hellos, each clearly thrilled to see the other again. Aang wonders how the dog is nearly half his cousin's size.

At length, Naga moves onto the second part of her mission: probing the unknown guest. She hurries over to the boy, slightly startling him and he knows to stay still while examination is underway. Sniffing in various places and circling around him, she begins her inventory.

_Beginning Arrowhead Boy case file._

_First item of inspection: he has neither beard nor hat. One or the other would be acceptable, but never both at once. Commendably, he has a hood but doesn't wear it. His intentions are not hostile._

_Second item of inspection: he has brought neither bone nor jerky as a peace offering. He must be instructed in the canine ways._

_Third item: he appears nervous and tense under scrutiny. He is likely a pushover and will need to be toughened up if he is to survive in the world._

_Fourth item: the clothes he wears are loose-fitting to what is obviously a slight and malnourished frame. The boy requires extra rations of T-bone steaks and kibble to reach his recommended weight._

_Fifthly: his greasy face, filthy clothes, and bizarre arrow of unknown origin on his otherwise bald head suggest he has difficulty grooming himself and must be tongue-bathed before using Master Senna's furniture to avoid her wrath._

_Sixthly: like the other humans, this one hides his posterior behind denim garments that no doubt make it difficult for him to poop or maybe indicate he doesn't know how. I will attempt a demonstration when we go for a walk, but don't expect much better results than with the other humans._

_Final report: the human boy is not in the best condition but is ultimately harmless. He is in the company of my benevolent humans and I trust their judgment. The Arrowhead Boy is welcome in my home, though I will need to train him on how to take better care of himself._

_Inspection is complete._

Korra smirks, "D'aww, I think she likes you."

Aang softly laughs while Naga licks him and he tries to retain his composure around the curious dog.

"C'mon, Naga. Give our new family member some space," Tonraq says while limping beside his wife.

Naga is at once thrilled to see Master Tonraq after his long absence and rushes to meet him, but is quickly aware of his injuries. The polar dog is anguished that she was not at her benevolent human's side when he was imperiled, knowing she would have been able to drive off the offenders.

Tonraq notices his dog's concern. "I'll be alright, girl. Thank you for watching our family while I was away."

Korra enters the house and takes off her shoes first with Aang close behind, the boy eager to hide his arrow from the rest of the sleeping neighborhood. Walking inside, he sees his new family's small house of tan carpets and wooden walls, Senna's attempts at decoration scant but warm and friendly all the same. It's a homely abode, but a palace to the Air Nomad all the same.

"Welcome to our stately manor, Master Aang," Korra joked with a bow and sweeping gesture of her arms. "Please follow me and we can begin the tour."

Aang smiles shyly. It's been a long time since someone put on such a comical display for him or tried to make him feel comfortable in this way. He finds enjoyment in it. He ventures a little from his shell, the bashfulness still there as he bows back, "Thank you for your hospitality, Madame Korra. I'm honored to be accepted into your grand home."

Korra smiles, a sense of fulfillment in her for easing her little cousin from the walls he built around himself. She knows it's only a small step in the long journey ahead, but that doesn't impair her spirits. "At present, your grace stands in the antechamber of the manor, leading just into the lounge with the dining hall not far beyond."

"What's an antechamber?" Aang asks.

Korra had to stop and think about that one. "Uh, it's kinda like a…like a smaller room that leads into a bigger one."

"So, where you walk into a house and take off your shoes is like the antechamber?"

"I think so."

Naga returns inside. Tonraq's arm is slung over his wife's shoulder and Senna closes the door before helping her husband past the kids. The parents smile at Aang and Korra's attempts to bond. Korra shows Aang what little there is of the living room and then leads him through the rest of the house with Naga following them, leaving the parents alone.

Senna eases Tonraq onto the couch to help change his bandages.

"Welcome home," she says to him as she opens his shirt, pure love and relief in her eyes.

He places a hand on her cheek and smiles back, drawing her closer so their foreheads touch. "I've missed you so much."

[Scene 04]

"We're sharing a room?" Aang asks his cousin, unsure how to feel about it. Naga laps around him.

"It was either that or sleep on the couch, which actually unfolds into a bed for guests. But you're more than a guest. You're family now, and we don't give our family the second-best. So, my mom and I spent the last three days rearranging things here so you'd have a room, even if it's only half yours."

His tired eyes see the bunk-bed against the wall and he balks forward. "Which one's mine?"

"Whichever one you want."

He's surprised. The opportunities for personal choice in his life have been limited for a long time. That's what happens when oppression takes all the options away.

He meanders until he places a hand on the railing, looking over the bottom bunk, then climbing just enough to see the top. He says, "I think I'll take the top one."

"So Naga can't slobber on you in your sleep?" Korra quirks.

Aang affords a light smile. "Well, I hadn't considered that. Is that something she does?"

"Ever since my alarm clock, uh…mysteriously got smashed by a hammer of unknown origin. But she only does it on school days."

"So, she's your alarm clock and you're mine?"

"Only if you don't mind Korra slobber." At this, Korra makes a face and sticks out her tongue. Aang shudders with fear and Korra laughs. "Kidding! Kidding!"

Aang makes a slight expression. Korra can't tell what it is. "I'm really tired," he says softly as he crawls onto the bed. "I'd like to turn in now."

"You're not gonna get changed?" Korra asks. Aang looks at her and she continues, "I've got some nightclothes for you: an extra pair of pajama pants and one of my dad's shirts." She hands him the articles and turns for her closet. "You can go on and get changed now. I'll be in here." At that, she enters her closet and closes the door to change into her own pajamas.

Aang pauses, uncomfortable with undressing in another's house, but there are none but Naga watching him now. He scoots back so even the polar dog is out of sight and changes his clothes.

"How're you doing out there?" Korra asks after some time.

"Almost done," Aang says before putting on the new shirt. He does so. "Alright," he calls.

Korra exits the closet with her hair down and dressed in a large shirt and flannel pants similar to Aang's as he gets under the covers of his bed.

"You look pooped," Korra comments.

Aang nods weakly, barely conscious. "I haven't slept in a while."

She smiles warmly. "You should sleep well tonight. And tomorrow, I'll show you around town—get you familiar with the sights."

Aang yawns, his head meeting the pillow—the most comfortable bed he's felt in all his life. He mumbles something in response.

Naga curls up in her dog bed and Korra approaches the light switch. "G'night, little cousin." She flicks it off.

He's slow to respond. "Good night…big cousin."

Korra goes to sleep in the bottom bunk that night with a warm swelling in her heart, satisfied with the contribution she's made in another's life. But Aang's thoughts are still distressed. Hardly more than forty-eight hours have passed since his whole world was destroyed, and now he finds himself in another still unfamiliar to him. Intermittent smiles and thank yous can only mask the pain for so long. He knows he should be grateful and he is, but as the silent tears fall from his young eyes, he sees there are certain wounds only time can heal.


End file.
